DePauw Prof Disciplined for Christian Literature in Classroom

More and More, Mainline Christian Churches are Revealing Just How Far Removed From Biblical Principals They Really Are.
by Chad Groening

(AgapePress) - The founder and chairman of the American Family Association says it is "unbelievable" that a Methodist-affiliated university has punished one of its teachers for distributing Christian literature.

According to the United Methodist News Service, Janis Price had been a full-time instructor at DePauw University since 1992. But now the Indiana school has suspended her from classroom duties and cut her pay by 25% after a student complained that she had put out issues of Teachers In Focus, a magazine published by Focus on the Family. The student apparently had some objections to the October 2000 issue, which highlighted the onslaught of homosexual activism on college campuses.

Dr. Don Wildmon is chairman of the Mississippi-based American Family Association. In reaction to the DePauw incident, he wonders what the future holds.

"Here is a United Methodist college - and I'm sure they would call themselves 'Christian' - [that] fires a professor for passing out Christian literature. What's next?" Wildmon asks. "It's just absolutely unbelievable."

The ordained Methodist minister says Methodists need to hold the school accountable - and until that happens, this sort of problem is going to continue.

"One of these days, Christians in denominations that have left-leaning tendencies like this, are going to wise up," he says, "and they're going to say: 'Hey, it's my money that's paying their salary. I'm not going to give any more money beyond my local church that I don't know exactly where it's going and what it's being used for.' "

In the meantime, Price has filed a lawsuit against the university, requesting that her teaching duties and full salary be restored, and the disciplinary action against her be dropped. DePauw and UMC officials are saying little about the case, which is expected to go to trial this fall.

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